Rare Book Monthly Articles - November - 2012 Issue

Earlier this year Alex Jemal, a Michigan lawyer now in his 80’s, approached me. He had built a collection of the writings of and as homage to Joyce Carol Oates, the later 20th century prolific. Over her career Ms. Oates has written more than fifty novels and innumerable other pieces. She was busy and popular at a time when reading books as a hobby was peaking and has since continued to write as cable television, the internet, iPods and iPads have elbowed books aside as sources of casual entertainment. She continues today even as books, not so long ago our stalwart companions on planes, ...